Many types of materials are used in the manufacturing of aircraft. Depending on the purpose for which the materials may be used, the materials may be subjected to certain standards set by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and/or other governmental regulation agencies. For example, fire-resistant materials and structures may be implemented into aircraft to improve aircraft safety; however, before these materials or structures are used, they are investigated to determine whether they pass certain regulatory fire-resistance tests. One such test is delineated in Advisory Circular 20-135, which indicates that materials and structures used for fire-resistance purposes should be capable of withstanding a 2000° F. (1090° C.) flame for fifteen minutes. A structure which passes this test is designated as “fireproof”.
Polymeric composite materials, such as bismaleimide (BMI), have been used in the past to form structures that meet the aforementioned FAA fireproof tests. However, although these materials provide adequate fire-resistant properties, they have certain drawbacks. In particular, BMI may be relatively expensive to obtain, and thus, inclusion thereof may increase aircraft manufacturing costs. Moreover, BMI materials may be export-controlled. As a result, the locations at which aircraft components including BMI materials can be manufactured may be limited and manufacturing costs may be high.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have improved materials and/or structures that at least pass tests regarding fireproof capability and that are not export-controlled. In addition, it is desirable to have materials and/or structures that are relatively simple to implement into existing aircraft component designs. Moreover, it is desirable to have processes to fabricate the materials and/or structures that are relatively inexpensive as well. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the inventive subject matter will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the inventive subject matter and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the inventive subject matter.